I heard a funny saying today while we were at the Easter egg hunt:

What kind of seeds to Cardinal birds eat? #1 seeds!

Any who, it’s been a good week. Caleb and Aimee are doing well; Aimee scored some great #’s on her tests & speech this week. In just over a week from now they’ll be on their way to the beach with Aunt Lynda and cousin Austin during spring break while I hold down the fort.

The pictures below are from March. A couple of weeks ago, we went on a walk/run while Caleb rode his Strider and a portion of the way back I found myself in a full-on sprint while Caleb coasted down a steep hill at approximately 8-10 MPH (let’s not ask this girl how far he would’ve gone in an hour, m-kay). It was so exciting to see him with his feet locked in place and his game face on as he charged down this hill on a slightly curved road. When we got to the bottom he told me he had a lot of fun. He’s such a thrill seeker!

There’s also a few pictures of our trip today to Grace Heartland Church, where we participated in an Easter egg hunt with a bunch of other kiddos and parents. Caleb was a little nervous at first, mostly because the music in the gym was so loud and there were lots of people. He had a really fun time and there were tons of eggs for all the kids. Thanks Grace Heartland Church!

On the way home we passed a local restaurant where several nice Corvettes were parked out front. Since I had the camera with us, we swung back around to snap a few shots before we made it to the house. Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Oh and on a side note, my younger sister Rebecca is having contractions and may be headed to the hospital today for delivery! Congrats Garcia family!

See the news coverage from a local news source: WHAS11. 

Aimee was studying for her upcoming class in her car on the ECTC campus when the siren sounded in Etown so she headed into the school-house for shelter and Caleb was at his Montessori school where they use an airplane hangar attached to their building as a safe spot in times of bad weather. Although I did not hear the sirens on Fort Knox and there weren’t any alarms sounding in our office, we were instructed to move to the inner rooms or stairwells of the 900,000 square foot complex for safety.

Today, someone at work shared a Tornado_Fact_Sheet provided by the US Army and I thought I would share it with those visiting this site for situational awareness considering a line from the 1st paragraph says:

While some areas are more prone to tornadoes than others, they can occur anywhere, so it is best to be prepared.

The most important thing to do if see a tornado is find shelter.

Saying Our Names:

Caleb’s teacher at Montessori school, Ms. Brit taught him how to clearly say his name as well as mine and Aimee’s first and last names. His teacher says he is a very quick learner so hopefully that will play to our advantage when he starts potty training.

Name that car:

Aimee is back in school and has her hands full with classes 5 days a week. Caleb started a new school called Montessori and is learning lots, like we live on Earth or erf as he calls it.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been uploaded tonight.

Christmas fun:

We had several get-togethers and for the first time, had the Barzee Crazy Christmas at our house. It wasn’t quite a standing room only situation, but the house was packed to say the least. Packed house with Barzee’s = fun times!

Bourbon Distilleries:

Tim’s father in-law was in town around the 1st week of January and he’s a fan of Rye whiskey so we set out to taste some bourbon. First stop was Four Roses, then Wild Turkey, and Woodford Reserve with a little snow to top it off. Wild Turkey had a very nice special blend that caught my taste buds and their new facility which opened in 2011 was pretty fancy too. Our guide was a little spontaneous and took us inside the barreling warehouse despite the fact that it was supposed to be locked up that day.

Water Beads:

That’s right, the beads typically used to keep plants hydrated are also fitting as a sensory project for kids. What better place for Caleb to play with these tiny balls of water than in the table daddy built for him just for special projects like this one. All of us spent time with this project and Caleb clearly enjoyed sifting his hands through the moist container of colorful beads.

New Haircut:

Caleb got a haircut this week. His curls are still present though very short, you can tell they aren’t ready to give up yet. I’ve been told his curls grow out the more you cut them. He’s been doing very well lately. He started a new school with a solid learning environment and his teachers told me today that he is far more advanced than his peers. He speaks so clearly and very often! We’re going to try to get some audio clips online soon so you can hear how much he’s progressed since you last saw him.

We thought of some words he has a hard time saying that we tend to favor, because they sound so cute! Here’s a few that I can think of now.

• Ketchup = sounds like; cats-a-cup
• Elevator = sounds like; alligator
• Vitamin = sounds like; money – he’s way off on this one and if prompted slowly can say it, but otherwise it’s money!

Storage:

Last, but not least is the storage area Tim helped me add to the storm shelter under our front porch. The space is accessed from the basement, but does not actually count as square footage for listing purposes though it is quite large. The shelves are 16 feet long and 2 feet deep and were made to hold a few plastic totes we have and holiday decorations. Thanks Tim! I did a little before and after shots and tried my best to get the camera in the same spot for each shot since I couldn’t leave it in there while we were working.

The Medders Nation is doing very well just so you know. Aimee finished her school semester maintaining a 4.0 GPA, and Caleb is talking and running around faster than we can keep up sometimes. We had a nice get together with Aimee’s family for Thanksgiving at John and Beth’s house where Caleb got to play with a bunch of his cousins.

On a sad note, the other day I sold my amazing smartphone that I owned for almost 2 years. The HTC HD2 was the best phone I ever had, but I got a great price for it and if I waited any longer it might not have been the case, so there is my upside. Sorry to mention my phone in this post, but those of you reading this probably know I’m very passionate about phones.

We bought a new camera on Black Friday so we can capture Caleb’s moments in better quality to share with you. The camera is a Canon Rebel T3 DSLR and performs far better than our previous point and shoot, pocket camera. Included below are some single shots and a slideshow of pics from this week.

This week I provided technical support for a workshop at our most capable conference room on base at the General Patton Museum and captured a couple pics while I was there. I brought our camera to work that day, because there was a rumor Kid Rock might make an appear at the Meals for Soldiers event also happening at the museum. Unfortunately, the rock star was a no-show, but it was fun to spread the rumor and the excitement was welcomed among the museum staff.

Also check out the cool soap stone ice cubes I bought online. These are great for chilling bourbon without watering down the grand flavor of a good drink (Basil Hayden in this case). The stones get rinsed after each use and then stored in the freezer. Want to keep your drink warm? Toss a couple in the microwave for 30 seconds and BAM! Keeps your drink warm. That’s awesome!

This weekend we are headed to French Lick to stay in a hotel with an indoor water park for some summer-like fun. This town has a deep history with some beautiful buildings and we are also expecting the Christmas decorations to be pretty cheerful.

I hope everyone is doing well. On a side note, I am pleased to announce my younger sister found out recently that they are expecting a baby girl next summer. Congrats, Francisco, Rebecca, and Isabella! We can’t wait to meet her!

Once we arrived in the Red River Gorge area, we met up with Phil and his 2 daughters; Erin and Alise to explore into the Daniel Boone National Forest where Aimee visited in her childhood. The entrance to the forest required us to drive through the Nada Tunnel, a hole carved through solid rock only wide enough for one lane of traffic at a time. After a short hike to a suspension bridge we met up with the Mills Family and checked into our housing for the next couple nights, a large 3 bedroom log cabin.

The cabin was everything I expected and more! Big rooms, a game room with a pool table, big wrap-around deck with a hot tub on it, fire pit out back, a kitchen full of amenities, the works… When we weren’t out hiking we were enjoying a comfortable stay in our cabin with friends. Art and Phil are a couple of my cigar buddies so we had our own little Fumadores Cigar Club hangout and broke out the corn hold boards the cabin owners provided. The deck was so large Caleb was able to ride his Strider up and down it.

Caleb had fun playing and chasing the other kids all weekend. Thanks to Ethan, Maya, Alise, and Erin for being so entertaining to him!

Hiking was amazing. We visited several points of interest; Sky Bridge, Angel’s Windows, Natural Bridge, and Chimney Rock. The two bridges were made of large rocks with the bottom middle missing to form a bridge and both trails took us over and around the bridges putting in perspective how high we were.

The weather was perfect in my opinion. It got a bit chilly at night and the wind blew constantly while we were there, but it was nothing to complain about. Thanks to everyone that went with us and we hope to do it again sometime.

Here’s the full slideshow from our camera and be sure to check out Lauren’s pics on Facebook too.

We arrived at the parking lot. Helmet… Check, Strider Prebike… Check, Excited Strider Rider… Check! We headed down the trail which migrates from a gravel top to dirt with a few sturdy wooden bridges throughout the ride. After we stopped for a snack, I did have to carry him and his gear at one point, but he remembered we were there to ride and requested to do so after a quick break on my shoulders. He played with some rocks, leaves, and got to wave at a bunch of ducks before we headed home. Round trip for us was just under 3 miles.

Caleb’s Strider is one of my favorite tools we have bought him to date. It is so rewarding to watch him ride and I love hearing him request to ride his bike.

Festivities officially started on the 16th when we went to Bernheim Forest for Colorfest with the FirquinNation and then a little over a week ago Caleb visited a farm down the road from our house called Wooden Farms to pick out some pumpkins and gourds. This past Saturday, we attended the 2nd Annual Barzee Pumpkin Carving Party at John and Beth’s house followed by Trunk or Treat at Allen and Beth’s church on Sunday. The parking lot was blocked off, trunks were decorated, and flash mob dancing was in full effect. Caleb wore his M and M costume for this event and his day care party on Monday.

Halloween night: Daddy rushed home from work a half an hour early to help get Caleb ready, then we headed out the door to catch up with the rest of the gang, and to tear up the streets! Caleb rode his Strider practically the entire time we were trick or treating; only showing fatigue with about a block and half to go. He climbed up hills, through the grass, and up stairs to get candy from happy greeters. He said the magic words, “Trick or treat” and kindly said, “Thank you” after receiving treats. Riding his Strider and sporting that awesome Evel Knievel costume drew a lot of attention from kids and parents alike as he strode from door to door. Most of the time, he just wanted to ride down the sidewalk and we had to remind him to, “Follow your cousins” so he would make the sharp rights towards candy-giver’s doors. Aimee had such a great idea and I’m thankful we were able to compile it into a costume he was comfortable wearing. Great job Aimee! What will you come up with next year?

Thanks to all the family we walked along with tonight! We know that Caleb absolutely loves being around his cousins and it is times like this we cherish most of all.